Kesu
by Banzai Godzilla
Summary: after Naruto fails the gennin exams he finds the Death Note Ryuk dropped to see what an idiot would do with the notebook... too bad being an idiot is just a mask...
1. Found

**Kesu**

_Chapter 1:_

_Found_

Ryuk flew over the strange village with a gleeful grin on his face. After he'd killed Light Yagami since he'd gotten boring, Ryuk no longer had a source of entertainment. He'd taken back the notebooks and gone back to the Shinigami realm. But he'd gotten bored again and was out to find another human to entertain him. He cackled madly as he dropped the extra Death Note he had since one had once belong to Rem.

The notebook just so happened to land right in front of a certain blonde haired ninja as he sat on his favorite swing and had just failed his gennin exam. "Huh? What's this?" he asked in a depressed tone as he picked it up.

Ryuk cackled, bringing the boy's attention to the floating Shinigami. Naruto gasped and froze in shock. "Don't look so frightened human," he cackled dryly as he saw the name Naruto Namikaze floating above the boy's head.

"W-who are you?" he asked shakily as he pointed to the humanoid creature with light gray, almost blue_-_ish color skin, limbs that are abnormally long, black spiked hair and has bulging yellow eyes with black irises. "_What_ are you?"

"I'm Ryuk, a Shinigami." he said with a freakish grin. "And that notebook you're holding is a Death Note."

"A _what_?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "_You're_ a _Shinigami_? And what the hell is a _Death_ _Note_?!"

Ryuk chuckled. Maybe seeing what an idiot would do with a Death Note would be more interesting than a genius like Light. "Hey kid, you might want to know that only you can see and hear me, you're getting weird looks."

Naruto looked around and saw some of the kids and parents picking them up were giving him weirder looks than usual. "Well it's not like it's anything new…" he grumbled before he turned back to the Shinigami Ryuk. "So you're saying I'm the only one who can see you?"

"Yeah." Ryuk chuckled as he pointed to the notebook in Naruto's hands. "And anyone who touches this Death Note."

"Yeah, what's up with this?" Naruto asked as he flipped through the blank pages while he tilted his head.

"The Death Note lets the user kill anyone who's name he's written on it." Ryuk gave a dry raspy snicker. "So write down a name kid. Have any enemies? Just write their name down while you imagine their face and their die of a heart attack in 40 seconds." Ryuk cackled excitedly.

Naruto almost dropped the notebook as he stared at it in shock and wonder, realizing all the power he held in his hands just with one little notebook. His hands trembled slightly and he gulped as he remembered all the beatings he'd gotten from villagers in his earlier years before he'd gotten so good at stealth that only ANBU and Iruka, who just had a knack for this, could find him.

"So have anyone in mind?" Ryuk asked eagerly, snapping Naruto from his memories. He shook his head to clear it and stared at the notebook with newfound reverence. With this book he could kill anyone, no matter how strong he was, how smart he was, or even how much he trained. It didn't matter because this seemingly simple notebook could overpower them.

"Ryuk, how does this notebook work?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he walked away from the academy, the Shinigami flying behind him.

Ryuk cackled gleefully. "So you _do_ have someone in mind!"


	2. Death Toll 1

**Sorry about this kinda being short but I got a project at school and I've been cramming for finals! Gah! **_**Damn you **_**procrastination!**

* * *

**Kesu**

_Chapter 2:_

_Death Toll - 1_

"Mizuki really is an idiot…" Naruto said softly, shadows hiding his face all but the wicked grin that curled his lips as he walked home after Mizuki had stopped him and told him about the 'secret test' for him to become genin. Of course, Naruto saw right through his lies and instead of going to go steal the scroll and catch Mizuki when he lured him out with the scroll, Naruto decided to use his Death Note to make him steal it and be killed by ANBU. It'd be perfect, just the right and _deserving_ way for him to die.

"So Mizuki huh?" Ryuk asked in his usual crazed voice.

Naruto chuckled. "How else than to make him die because of stealing it? What I'm wondering is if I can somehow get the scroll during the confusion…" he paused thoughtfully as he took out his Death Note and wrote the details of Mizuki's death before writing down his 'sensei's' name in front of it. "_**Kesu**_!"

* * *

Mizuki panted as he ran through the trees, trying to get away from Konoha as fast as he could. The Scroll of Seals strapped on his back along with his giant shurikens weighed a ton, but he knew that if he got it to his master, he'd get the power he deserved. He grinned greedily and decided to take things in a more leisure pace. He bet Konoha didn't even notice the scroll was gone yet, they were so pathetic. His eyes suddenly flickered to his right when he felt someone's presence. He snorted at how weak they felt, so weak he almost confused them for a small animal.

"You can come out now." he said arrogantly, stopping on a tree branch. He threw a kunai just in case and smirked when he herd a satisfying _thump_, but he didn't expect for a volley of kunai to come at him afterward. He jumped out of the way, taking out another kunai blocking another volley shot out too quick for him to dodge in midair. He growled and threw one of his giant shurikens at the nuisance. A choked gurgle followed from behind his opponent's hiding spot after it hit its intended mark. How pathetic. He smirked.

"What?!" Mizuki growled as a dark cloud of shuriken and kunai rained down on him from behind. At the last second he used kawarimi and replaced himself with a log, making a run for it. In a clearing, he found a shack where he hid the scroll under the floorboards as he felt three chakra signatures approaching. He clenched his teeth and ran to loose his pursuers, he'd come back for the scroll once he'd gotten rid of them. He sprinted off into the trees, unknown to him that two figures were watching him leave. One with manic amusement and the other triumphant as he held a giant shuriken in one hand and a black notebook in the other.

"That was _too_ easy," the blond scoffed, making his way into the shack.

* * *

--The Next Day--

Sarutobi sighed at the turn of events that had piled up this morning considering the events that went on last night. Mizuki had stolen the Scroll of Seals but before he could get too far from Konoha, he'd been dispatched by ANBU. Unfortunately they'd arrived too late because Mizuki didn't have the scroll anymore and no one knew where it was or if it'd been taken away by enemy nin. The ANBU who'd killed him was a noob who'd gone way in over his head, obviously too arrogant to think to bring in Mizuki for questioning and killed him. It also piled up with the fact that Naruto had come to him this morning to say he was dropping out of the academy.

--Flashback--

"Come in." Sarutobi said as he rubbed his temples, starting to feel frustrated over the whole incident that night. He'd been so angry with the ANBU who'd killed Mizuki, he'd chewed him out before demoting him back to chunnin and sentenced him to D-rank missions for another six months just a few minutes before someone had knocked on his door.

"Hey old man…" Sarutobi looked up in concern at his favorite hyperactive blond walked into his office quietly like a normal person.

"What's wrong Naruto?" he asked. He was probably depressed about failing to become a ninja again. His eyes soften, he wished he could do more for Minato's son, but this was all he could do until he became a chunnin. The poor boy, to be foist with such a burden at such a young age.

Naruto adverted his gaze and frowned, not his usual childish pout, making Sarutobi on high alert, this was obviously serious. "I've been thinking…about me becoming a ninja," Naruto started and licked his lips, "And I know I said I wanted to become the Hokage, but when I failed _again_ yesterday… I realized I'm not cut out for it. I can't even make a _simple_ _bushin_!" he shook his head as if at the sheer incredulity of him becoming Hokage.

Sarutobi felt his heart wrench at what he was implicating. "Naruto…"

Naruto put his hand up. "I've been thinking about this, I didn't even sleep last night because of it," he said and Sarutobi realized it was true. The tell tale signs of lack of sleep was evident on Naruto's face. "I know none of the villagers would except me as Hokage anyway, not to mention the council." Naruto looked up suddenly and his frown deepened, but it turned back to normal as he looked down at his clenched fists, licking his lips again. "I obviously have no skill for it anyway," he continued. "The villagers hate me, don't try to deny it, it'd obviously be a lie."

As much as Sarutobi wanted to change Naruto's mind, he knew it was probably true that Naruto wouldn't become Hokage. "What do you plan to do now?" he sighed sadly as he chanced a glance at the Fourth's picture he had in the room. He silently sent his apology to Minato that he couldn't make the villagers see Naruto like the hero he deserved to be.

"I think I'll go travel around and become an apprentice or something in some other skill." Naruto shrugged, making the Third smile. There was the Naruto he knew and cared about.

"Ok, you can't be considered a missing nin since you never passed the academy, so I can't stop you, but I hope you know what you're doing…"

Naruto grinned his first grin since he arrived in the office. "Don't worry about me old man! When I come back I'll be a master at whatever I decide to do!" he said flashing him a peace sign. Sarutobi immediately smiled, he was starting to think Naruto had given up all hope. "I'll be the best in my biz just watch me!" Naruto said with burning determination before he left, but much to Sarutobi's shock, it wasn't directed at him but at the Fourth's picture.

--End Flashback--

"I'm getting too old for this…" the Third groaned.

* * *

"What a load of crap…" Ryuk complained as Naruto left Konoha with all his stuff (which wasn't much) packed in his backpack. Naruto walked on until he was out of hearing distance from the guards until he replied.

"I had to plan things out perfectly Ryuk," he said simply as if talking to a child. "I know no one would really suspect me about the scroll, but how could I avoid suspicion if so many of my tormentors were killed if I was still in the village?"

Ryuk grinned. "So you're not going to be boring after all. For a second I thought you were going to be goody two shoes about this and never kill again."

Naruto snorted. "I suppose my acting skills could even fool a _shinigami_, though I think my performance in front of the old man could have gone better if you hadn't been so _distracting_." he said shooting a glare at Ryuk which he brushed off with a chuckle.

"Maybe kid." he cackled in amusement. "So what are you really going to do now?"

"You think I'd _really_ give up being a ninja _that_ easily?" he asked rhetorically, but then brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Though to be convincing, I guess I _should_ learn something else too."

"A jack of all trades?" Ryuk suggested jokingly.

Naruto smirked sadistically. "You know, I kind of like that idea… but first I need money…"

* * *

**wow there are a lot of people looking forward to this chapter… that makes me feel bad about it being so short! I'm srry! Blame the teach's goddamn giant project worth over 200 points! how come no one felt the need to tell me it was worth so much?!**


	3. The Healer

**TT_TT I have such understanding readers! Thanks for getting why I couldn't post in a while! Finals are a bitch and giant 200 point projects are worse, so thank you so much for not turning into angsty homicidal maniacs! Now onto the homicidal maniac you all came here to read about…. :)**

* * *

**Kesu**

_Chapter 3:_

_The Healer_

"A job?" the farmer asked as he brought up his straw hat with his thumb so he could look at the kid better.

"Aren't you a bit young to be traveling around in the first place?" his son spoke up.

The farmer scratched the back of his head, ignoring his son. "Well, you know, I actually hire ninja from Konoha if I ever need more help here." he said undecidedly. "Maybe the blacksmith in town needs some help."

Naruto nodded. "Sure thing old man!" he grinned before walking down the dirt path toward a small rural town in Fire Country, Ryuk, though invisible to the farmer and his son, followed behind him.

--

"No, sorry kid, I just got an apprentice." the burley blacksmith said apologetically. "Try the baker."

--

"Yodai, that bastard, he knows I only trust my bakery to my daughters! I have no need for a good-for-nothing pauper! Go try somewhere else!"

Naruto sighed as the door got slammed in his face and went on to see if he could get a job somewhere. Each time he'd get a similar response to the first or second. After going to every shop in town, Naruto sighed, plopping down on the rim of the fountain in the center of the small town while Ryuk laughed up a storm at his misfortune.

"Excuse me? Are you looking for a job?" a girl asked softly as she put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the girl around his age with long black hair in a low ponytail and warm dark brown eyes, wearing a plain light blue kimono and carrying a small basket full of herbs.

"Uh, yeah I was." he said in surprise as she smiled kindly.

"Oh, that's wonderful, I think I have something you can help me with." she said sweetly. "You see, I'm the village's healer and I need someone to help me gather herbs, carry sick patients, or carry my herbs when my patients can't come to me. I'm also very busy so I can't really keep my house as clean as Id' like to and sometimes that interferes with my work. I'll provide housing and you get paid as well, just for a little help here and there." she said humbly, making Naruto's mainly paranoid mind wondering if it was even humanly possible to be as innocent as this girl. Of course, his paranoid mind also told him that this could be a trick and she was going to stab him when he wasn't looking, but he decided to take his chances since this little town was almost on the border of Fire country. Plus he needed a job.

"You got yourself a helper!" he grinned obnoxiously.

"Wonderful!" she cheered warmly. "My name is Tamiko. What's yours?"

Naruto resisted to sweat drop as he told her his name. Even her name suggested she was a good person.

--

Naruto looked around a small hut outside the village curiously. It was a little far and in the surrounding forest, but she explained that it made it easier for her to be near the herbs she needed. The inside was simple, just one traditional style room that was a kitchen, living room, and bedroom all combined in one cozily with the only other door leading to the bathroom. It was pretty empty. In one corner was a chest with two futons rolled up neatly next to it. In the opposite corner was an assortment of giant baskets that could be strapped to your backs filled with different kinds of dried herbs. Next to them was a large bookshelves full of jars that held different colored powders, liquids, and salves all organized and labeled neatly. Followed by a worktable with a herb book opened to a random page and different tools Naruto recognized could be used to grind the dried herbs into dust and mixed to form salves. Her kitchen was actually just a smaller table that could just be considered a cutting board next to a miniature traditional Japanese fireplace instead of a stove.

"She likes to keep things simple…" Ryuk noted as he looked around slightly impressed someone could actually live like this willingly when they didn't have to, thought he'd never admit it.

Naruto mentally agreed. Tamiko walked up to the table, set down her basket, and began to organized the different herbs she had. "It's not much, but please make yourself at home." she said, turning from her work and smiling at him.

Naruto stood awkwardly at the door for a moment, before setting down his bag on the floor. "So what do you want me to do?" he asked.

She chuckled. "I need to go to check up on the major's daughter and see how she's doing. She broke her leg the other day, and her mother told me earlier that little Keiko has gotten a fever from the pains. The perfect thing for that is meadowsweet. Can you find that for me? It's in one of jars up there." she said motioning up to the top shelf where she couldn't reach.

Naruto looked up and mentally curse the fact that he was almost a midget. Even Tamiko was taller than him. Meanwhile Tamiko was packing different supplies like bandages and splints into a straw woven box with straps on it so it worked like a backpack, but she turned to him when she noticed he was standing in front of the bookshelf contemplating if she was trying to make fun of him. She gasped when she noticed he couldn't reach the top.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should have told you there was a stool." she apologies as she took out a simple wooden stool from under the table.

"It's ok," Naruto mumbled as he got the meadowsweet, but pause when he saw two jars labeled the same except they had different things inside. "Which jar is it?" he asked as he held the two jars to her.

"Wonderful! I need both!" she chirped happily as she gather the two jars, one filled with dried white little flower clusters while the other had a collection of clean roots. "I need to grind the plant for tea to help her fever. She'll need to chew the roots for the pain." she explained as she tucked a stray hair from her face behind her ear. She took some of the flowers from the jar and set them on the wedge of a stone and started to grind the dry plant with a strange wheel, making it a fine light green powder.

Naruto watched in awe as she meticulously worked with a smile on her face, putting the powder in a small clean jar before putting that and the roots in the straw box. She turned to him and smiled once she was done and handed him the box. "Come on now, we had to go help little Keiko to recover!" she said cheerfully. Naruto could only nod dumbly and Ryuk made sure to laugh at him for it.

* * *

"Hey kid." Ryuk said as he flew over to Naruto as sat taking a break after chopping enough firewood that could probably last Tamiko the whole upcoming winter.

Naruto took off the bandana he used to keep his growing blond hair from his face and used it to wipe some sweat from his face. "So you finally came back Ryuk?" he asked.

Ryuk merely cackled mysteriously. It'd been three months since he'd moved in and started working for Tamiko and Ryuk had gone away somewhere after a few days saying he was getting bored. Naruto really didn't mind, he'd learned a lot about healing, enough that he could be considered a mediocre healer, just slightly below Tamiko. He'd discovered not long after he'd met the strange cheerful girl that her mother had been a retired medical nin, so she could use medical justu too, she just preferred to keep that to herself unless the injury was serious or life threatening. Naruto couldn't use medical justu since his chakra control sucked, but Tamiko taught him about all the different herbs out there in the world even if she didn't always mean to. It seemed like she always felt the need to explain what a plant did and what she was going to do. She even did this when Naruto wasn't around, which he'd found out when he'd walked into her talking to herself after he'd come back from fishing in the nearby stream. He merely brushed it aside as habit though.

"So are you going to get going soon?" Ryuk asked suddenly, sounding impatient. Naruto thought about it for a second. He'd saved up his money over the past three months and he now had more than enough to travel farther than fire country which had been his original goal.

He nodded. "I'll probably leave soon."

"Good! I thought you'd be interesting, but so far the only thing you've done with your Death Note is kill Mizuki." Ryuk complained. "And if that isn't enough, you sealed up both that Scroll of Seals and the Death Note away!"

"I'm still in Fire Country. I can't risk taking the scroll out now." Naruto replied as he took out his chopsticks and a bento Tamiko had made him that morning from within the orange kimono top he wore now with black hakamas and began to eat.

Ryuk grumbled in annoyance, making Naruto give him a withered look. Sometimes Ryuk acted more like a child than he did, he thought idly. "I'd have to tell Tamiko first though."

"Tell me what?" Tamiko asked as she came up with a basket full of checkerberries and their leaves. Naruto immediately wondered where she got them since checkerberries didn't grow near here, though they did have a lot of uses especially in tea or when turned into an oil. Tamiko followed his gaze to the berries. "Oh, I almost forgot! I found some checkerberry bushes downstream! Isn't that wonderful?! I usually have to trade with merchants to ever get any! Come on! I need your help with gathering a seedling so I can grow one in my garden!" she said excitedly as she ran inside to put her basket away, while Naruto finished the rest of his lunch.

--

Naruto sat down tiredly once he got inside at dusk after planting the checkerberry seedling in Tamiko's garden behind the hut. Tamiko smiled at him and he returned it. After three months, he'd grown fond of the older girl. She really was naïve to how cruel people could be since she mostly spent her time gathering herbs and making medicine, mainly keeping to herself. She was also in good terms with everyone in the town, they practically adored her, even the grouchy baker. Even Naruto found himself counting her in his small list of precious people along with Iruka and the old man Hokage. He almost felt sorry he had to go, but he knew it wouldn't be safe for her if he stayed as long as he had the Scroll of Seals. He'd even thought of burning it, but quickly decided against it. He still planned to become a ninja and he might just learn something useful from it.

He sighed. So now to break the news to her.

Before he could tell her, she brought out a strange dish Naruto hadn't seen her cook before. Another thing he liked about her, she was great cook. Sure she'd taught Naruto how to cook, but his wasn't nearly as good at hers. It looked like a folded leaf around steamed glutinous rice flour and millet with pinkish purple mugwort on top. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled sweet and made his mouth water.

"That looks good. What is it?" he asked as she served some for both of them.

Tamiko beamed. "My mother always used to make this for me when I was little. It's called Fumanju, they're my favorite kind too, they're filled with honey adzuki bean paste!" she said happily as she ushered him to eat some.

Naruto was more than happy to dig in and when he took his first bite he immediately wondered how he had ever lived without ever tasting something so good. It beat ramen- like most of Tamiko's cooking- by a long shot. "This is delicious!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she said happily, but paused and turned to the side to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. Naruto frowned, wondering what he'd done wrong as he heard her sob.

"Tamiko-chan?" he asked uncertainly when she wouldn't turn.

"It's just…" she started as she wiped her tears with her kimono sleeve. "I've wanted to cook that meal for someone else for so long, ever since my mother died." she said as she smiled through her tears. She brought a hand up to silence Naruto's questions. "I'm dying Naruto-kun. Even my mother couldn't cure me of my disease, she died trying. I know I'll die soon, I can feel it. Don't look at me like that Naruto-kun, I've known I would have to die someday. I'm just glad you came along." she kept her smile even though Naruto felt the stinging burn in his eyes. He choked back a sob as she continued. "I had distanced myself from most people, never really becoming attached to anyone since I always felt like I would die anyway. When I saw you in town three months ago, I felt like maybe I should at least have one friend before I go. Then I'll have someone to tell my mother about when I meet her again." she wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "I've been bearing my pain for years now, the pain has been catching up with me, not even my medicine will help anymore. I don't know how, but I know I probably won't wake up tomorrow. I feel cold and the pain is slowly leaving me." she crawled over to where Naruto sat tears making their way down his whiskered cheeks as he stared at her in shock. He tried to imagine how she could even move and stay cheerful all the time, but he only felt saddened by it. He never expected her to pull him into a hug. He buried his head into the crook of her shoulder like a child and sobbed, his heart wrenching with the pain of losing a loved one. One of his precious people. One he had no way of protecting. He felt so helpless as she clung to her as if keeping her close would keep her father from death.

"Will you do my a favor Naruto-kun?" she asked softly after a moment of silence. Naruto nodded into her shoulder, not wanting to pull away. "When I die, will you please bury me beside my garden? Some of my fondest memories are in that garden. Right beside the checkerberry sapling, so that even in death I'll be close to you."

--

He stared out at the yellow harvest moon in the night sky. A cool breeze that promised winter blew through Naruto's spiky blond hair that had grown out to look a lot like the fourth hokage. He stared out sadly, not being able to sleep when he knew that one of his precious people was dying in the room below the ceiling he sat on and he couldn't do anything to stop it. She'd left him her hut and her herbs and scrolls on medical jutsu even though he couldn't perform any. She said she'd wait for him along with her mother.

He could no longer cry, it was like he'd been wrung dry from all the liquid in his body. Ryuk landed on the roof beside him. "You knew she was dying." he said, it wasn't a question. "That's why you came back today."

"It wouldn't have changed anything if you knew." Ryuk said almost cackling. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'll move on. I'll visit her so her memory won't die away, but I won't stay here." he said as he jumped off the roof and started to walk toward the small town.

"Hey, where're you going?" Ryuk asked.

"No one should pass onto nirvana without the taste of good sake on their lips." he said, remembering something the old man hokage had once said.

Ryuk merely cackled as if what he said held great amusement.

* * *

**Tamiko means "child of the people"- or at least the website I got it from said so :P**

**kinda ties in with how she helps everyone in the village and would rather not get attention to herself since she's so humble, plus if you didn't notice, her favorite word is wonderful **

**sorry for the end being so sad, but Tamiko is going to be really important later**


	4. The Psychic

**Kesu**

_Chapter 4:_

_The Psychic_

Shinta was an outcast since he could remember. He usually wasn't someone people felt comfortable around. He felt he had a gift, though some would call it a curse. Even he had felt like it was when he was younger. Seeing people who weren't physically there. Knowing people's names before they were introduced. Even how much time they had left in their lives. Watching dark creatures flying in the skies sometimes, was the most frightening. He'd first seen one when he was ten. It was crouched on a lamppost, scribbling away in a black notebook. He'd hidden himself behind a street corner, scared half to death as it wrote down whatever it was writing. He was already used to seeing ghosts by that time, it was a normal occurrence by then, but that _thing_ just took the cake.

The next thing he knew, a man in the crowded street fell over dead. Shinta didn't remember how he'd gotten to the man, but he'd been at the man's side not a minute later, just in time to see the creature fly away. It'd chilled him to the bone. The man still had thirty more years, but whatever that _thing_ had done, it had killed him. Over the years, Shinta had only seen creatures similar to the first twice afterwards, but he thought that was enough for him to be wary. He'd called them Shinigami in his mind, the name just seemed appropriate.

Of course he never told anyone of what he saw anymore. Who'd believe him? They'd think he was a loon and be sent to the funny farm. No, he'd hate to be stuck in a padded room, not to mention hospital. He preferred to travel, never stuck in one place for too long. Never to have a ghost follow him if it noticed he could see it. Ghosts tended to do that. Thankfully they usually couldn't leave too far from where they died unless they haunted a particular person. But he'd only been to a hospital once in his life and he'd been six then. He'd broken his leg when he'd fallen out of the peach tree behind his old house, when his parents still gave a rats ass about him. He'd been treated well at the hospital, the nurses were nice and it'd been (if painfully) clean. But what he'd seen there had scarred him for life. The ghosts there were the most in one place that he'd ever seen in his life. Not even the most populated graveyard had this many! The mutilated transparent figures, some hardly resembling humans, had been too much for a six year old to handle. Such carnage had made him swear to never go to a hospital again.

That's why he was in a real predicament now… Well not exactly… He'd been an idiot on the way to the small village in grass country. He hadn't watched were he was going and the road on the mountainside he'd been walking on had crumbled below his feet. He'd literally thought he was going to die, but he'd escaped death with only a few broken bones at the base of the mountain. He'd been laying here for hours, actually surprised he hadn't bled to death yet. Hoping someone would come and find him, though he knew there was no way anyone would come this way. And even then, they'd probably pass him without noticing him. With his dumb luck he'd fallen inside a couple of bushes, hiding him so well the only way someone would be able to see him is if they poked around the bushes for a while.

He resisted the urge to sigh, or cry, or any other way to vent out his frustration, but the pain he felt from just _breathing_ made his rethink doing much else. He must have broken a few ribs too along with his arm and shoulder. He wasn't sure about his legs, he couldn't even feel them anymore. The pain was starting to slowly numb his body, making him feel cold. He'd lapsed in and out of consciousness since he landed here and made him feel helpless. He couldn't even move and now there was one of those Shinigami creatures looking over him. His eyes snapped open wide, fear and shock replacing his sleepiness.

"I know this is a stupid question, but are you ok?"

Shinta blinked slowly uncomprehendingly as he saw a pair of radiant blue eye. His gazed slowly drifted to the Shinigami behind the blond before turning to the boy who didn't look that much younger than him. Maybe by a few years, not too much. He looked up at the boy's head where the red letters floating over his crown of blond hair, noticing the lack of his lifespan's presence.

"Naruto… Namikaze..?" Shinta managed to mumble drowsily as he saw the corners of his eyesight darkened. The boy gave him a confused yet surprised look, that Shinta distantly found endearing. He closed his eyes with that in mind. At least he hadn't died alone. He'd spent his whole life by himself, at least he died with someone close, even if it was a total stranger. He knew his name, Naruto Namikaze, and that was enough. As he gave into the dark world of unconsciousness, Shinta could faintly hear a dry, raspy laugh that could only be described as an insane cackle.

* * *

--A few minutes before--

"Face it, you're lost." Ryuk taunted as Naruto walked through the forest in Grass country still close to the boarder to Fire country.

"Shut up." he snapped. He knew he was lost, but did the stupid Shinigami have to rub it in?! He absentmindedly adjusted the straps of the medicine box that were digging into his shoulders as he trudged through the rugged terrain. He would have taken the path through the mountains to the next village, but the rain from last night had left it slightly unstable. He really hadn't trusted the path and chose to cut through the forest at the base of the mountain. And now… he was lost. Didn't he pass by that bush shaped like a platypus three times already? He had the itching feeling that he might be in a genjutsu…

Of course he knew he could just jump from tree to tree the ninja way and find a way out. He'd secretly kept himself physically fit the past months, making sure not to get rusty, but he wanted to appear like a normal person when he got to the village. That wouldn't happen if he was found out by ninja. He'd seen some on patrols near the boarder and wasn't sure if they were still around. He stepped over a gnarled root on the ground that threatened to trip anyone who didn't pay attention. At least he hadn't seen _that_ before. He was just about to walk past a thick cluster of bushes when Ryuk gave one of his dry cackles. Naruto turned to the Shinigami, giving him a looked that clearly said 'what?'.

"There's a half dead human in those bushes. Let's see how you manage this 'oh great traveling medic'." Ryuk teased sarcastically. Naruto rushed to the bushes not a second after he started and started looking through the bushes. He dug through the branches for a while before he spotted some blood on some of the leaves. Searching through for a little while longer, he finally found a dark purple and swollen arm, obviously broken. Following the arm to its owner, he found a dazed looking boy, probably a bit older than himself.

He blinked as the boy's red unfocused eyes landed on Ryuk and widened in fear. He could see Ryuk? Naruto saved that information for later and decided to catch the boy's attention. He knew it was stupid to ask a question he knew the answer to already, but he'd always been used to Tamiko rushing in with professional air when faced with an injured person. Naruto was still awkward with patients, though he'd been gathering his savings from treating people as he traveled for the past month now, slowly but surely making his way from fire country to now grass country.

"Naruto…Namikaze..?" the pale boy mumbled tiredly, his breathing shallow and labored. Naruto gave him the confused look. How the guy knew his first name was a little unsettling. But his last name was Uzumaki not Namikaze. He ignored Ryuk's cackle, instead opting to help the boy who'd just passed out from his injuries. It was a wonder he'd even lasted as long at he did. These wounds weren't that fresh, the blood had already caked to his skin and dried.

* * *

He felt pain. A lot of it. Not just the '_ow_, I just got a paper cut' kind of pain. It was more like a '_OW_! _MOTHERFUCKER_!!' kind of pain. He felt like he fell of a cliff and rolled down a rocky mountainside before crashing through some tree branches and landing in some uncomfortable bushes. Oh wait, that _did_ happen… He groaned as he swam onto the land of consciousness. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? There was a Shinigami right there…and… What the hell..?

Shinta's unbandaged left eye fluttered open, making him groan once again as the bright light over his head didn't help his headache _at all_. Damn sun…

"Yo! You're awake earlier than expected!" a cheery voice broke his meaningless boggled thoughts.

"Wha..?" he mumbled weakly, wincing when the bandaged gash from his hairline, over his right eye and to his cheek parallel to his nose stretched and throbbed in pain. His visible red eye searched around, taking in his surroundings- well as much as he could since he couldn't move. His gaze landed on the blond boy with blue eyes watching him with an almost foxlike grin. He looked up at the boy's name floating over his golden locks. Naruto Namikaze. Ah, that was right. Now he remembered. He'd seen the boy right before he'd passed out. He must have helped him. His gaze turned slightly wary since he still couldn't see his lifespan. What made this guy so different?

"Careful, you don't want to reopen that." Naruto advised, but Shinta had too many questions to comply. Like where did the Shinigami go? Why was he helping him? And _why_ couldn't he see his _lifespan_?!

Shinta decided to examine the blond instead. He wore an orange kimono top, black hakama pants, and a white bandana folded like a headband held his longish spiky hair from his beautiful face. Shinta blushed. Where had _that_ thought come from? Well… he did have a slightly feminine face, with the whole 'perfect complexion' thing… Shinta ended those thoughts there. Wouldn't want to weird out a total stranger now would he?

"Your arm and two of your ribs are broken, but you should be fine." Naruto continued as he checked Shinta's bandages. He'd need to change them soon. "You received minimal damage in comparison to what you could've. I saw where you must've fallen from, and I have to say anyone else would've died on their way down here. You're one lucky bastard I'll give you that." Shinta faintly thought that Naruto was probably the type who always felt the compulsion to fill all silence with mindless chatter. "Unfortunately, by the time I got to you, your wounds had already started to clot, so you'll probably have some scars."

Shinta closed his uncovered eye in acceptance since he couldn't move most of his face without upsetting the cut on his face that would most likely scar. He released a deep breath through his nose, wincing slightly when his chest throbbed painfully. "A few scars is a fair price to pay to stay alive…" Shinta mumbled hoarsely.

Naruto grinned. "Now that's the spirit." he said cheerfully before he gave Shinta some water to clear his throat. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way." he added as Shinta drank his water.

Shinta gave him a confused look, his eyes trailing back to Naruto's head to see if he'd read his name wrong. Nope, still Naruto Namikaze. Shinta faintly wondered if Naruto had changed his name, but decided it would be rude to ask. "I'm Shinta Tokino." he replied with a small friendly smile.

* * *

"Did you notice his eyes?" Ryuk asked eagerly as he bit into an apple he'd somehow found. He lay on his side lazily facing the fire, with a neat pile of apples stack up next to him.

Naruto looked across the campfire at Ryuk and raised an eyebrow. "Aside from the fact that they're red?" he asked noncommittally.

Ryuk gave a short cackle as he finished off his apple, tossed the core aside and picked another from his pile, in no hurry to answer Naruto. He stared at the shiny red apple he took from the top of his pile and decided to polish it, much to the annoyance of the blond. "Have I told you about the Shinigami Eyes?" he asked, pretending that all his concentration was on polishing his delicious apple until it was perfect.

Naruto's eyes widened, putting two and two together at what Ryuk was insinuating. "How is it even possible?" he asked. "Does he have a Death Note?"

Ryuk gave a dry cackle. "And I thought you were an idiot!" he finally bit into his apple. "Guess I did judge you too soon with that orange jumpsuit you used to wear!" he laughed.

Naruto shot him an annoyed look. "Ryuk…" he warned.

Ryuk merely cackled, finding Naruto's annoyance amusing. "I can't tell you the answer to either one of your questions. It's against the rules." he gave Naruto a shit-eating grin, letting the campfire splay shadows over his face dramatically and leaned in as if letting in on a great secret. "But I _can_ tell you that the kid seems to have a more advanced version of my own eyes, he just hasn't unlocked it to its full potential. See it's a recessive gene that comes once every seven genera-"

Naruto shot him a sharp look. "So it's a bloodline." It wasn't a question, and Ryuk suddenly biting his apple and trying to look innocent (which only made him look guilty) only confirmed it. Naruto shot a curious look over his shoulder at the unconscious Shinta. He was breathing deeply but shallow due to his injuries. Naruto wondered if it was coincidence or fate that brought him to meet someone with the Shinigami Eyes.


End file.
